pennyspoetryfandomcom-20200214-history
Gustav Davidson
Gustav Davidson (December 25, 1895 - February 6, 1971) was an American poet, prose writer, editor, and publisher. Life Davidson was born in Warsaw, Poland. In the wake of anti-Jewish pogroms in Poland, his family fled to the United States, settling in New York City in 1907. Davidson attended Columbia University, where he earned a B.A. in 1919 and a M.A. in 1920.Biographical Note, Gustav Davidson Papers, Library of Congress. Web, Oct. 16, 2016. During the 1920's and 1930's he published poetry and dramatic works, and edited literary magazine. In 1940 he founded Fine Editions Press. He married Mollie Strauss in 1942.Veronica Martzahl, Poetry Society of America celebrating 100 years, Digital Collections & Archives, January 17, 2012, Tufts University. Web, Oct. 16, 2016. He worked for the Library of Congress in 1938-1939. He was executive secretary of the Poetry Society of America from 1949 to 1965 (after which he was elected executive secretary emeritus). Writing He is best known for his 1965 book, A Dictionary of Angels: Including the fallen angels, a populist work detailing the types of angel classes and their roles. This was a popularised compendium of angelology from Talmud, kabbalah, medieval occult writers, gothic grimoires and other sources. He also wrote articles, such as on encounters with angels, in the parapsychological Tomorrow magazine]] of medium Eileen J. Garrett.Tomorrow: Volume 10 1962 "THE GUISE OF ANGELS by Gustav Davidson ... Admittedly, encounters "in the flesh" with angels or demons have become increasingly rare and suspect, but such encounters should not be dismissed as wholly fanciful." In addition to the Dictionary, Davidson published several collections of his poems, including Songs of Adoration (1919), Twenty Sonnets (1926), Lilith (1928), Mortal Hunger (1943), Thirst of the Antelope (1945), Moment of Visitation (1950), Ambushed by Angels, and other poems (1965), and All Things Are Holy (1970). He wrote a dramatic adaptation of Melmoth the Wanderer in collaboration with playwright Joseph Koven. As the titles of some of his works indicate, much of Davidson's verse is religious and spiritual in outlook and subject matter. Davidson edited A Half Century of Sonnets (1924), and the 1950 collection In Fealty to Apollo for the Poetry Society of America. He also edited periodicals devoted to poetry: The Poetry Chapbook and Poet Lore: A quarterly of world literature. Davidson also wrote First Editions in American Juvenilia: And problems in their identification (1939), and other works on bibliography and book collecting. He was also active as a translator and a book designer. Recognition The Poetry Society of America established a Gustav Davidson Memorial Award in his honor. Publications Poetry *''Songs of Adoration''. New York: The Madrigal, 1919. *''Twenty Sonnets''. New York: Blue Faun, 1926. *''Lilith''. New York: Poetry Quartos, 1928. *''Bird of Time''. New York: League to Support Poetry, 1941. *''Mortal Hunger: Poems''. Gunnison, CO: Allan Swallow, 1943. *''Invocation Ode to America''. 1944. *''Thirst of the Antelope''. La Porte, IN: Dierkes Press, 1945. *''Moment of Visitation: Poems''. Denver, CO: Allan Swallow, 1950. *''Ambushed by Angels, and other poems''. London: Outpost, 1965. *''All Things are Holy''. Georgetown, CA: Dragon's Teeth Press, for Literary Discoveries, 1970. Plays *''Melmoth the Wanderer: A play in five acts'' (with Joseph Koven). Boston: Poet Lore, 1915. *''The Great Adventure: A dramatic fantasy, in three acts''. Boston: 1945. Non-fiction *''The Most Tragic Story in the Annals of Mathematics: The life of Evariste Galois''. New York: Scripta Mathematica, 1939. *''First editions in American Juvenilia: And problems in their identification''. Chicago: Normandie House, 1939. *''A Dictionary of Angels: Including the fallen angels''. London: Outpost, 1965; New York: Free Press, 1966. Juvenile *''The Guides Make Good''. London: Sheldon Press / New York: Macmillan, 1925. Edited *''A Half Century of Sonnets''. New York: N.L. Brown, 1924. *''In Fealty to Apollo: Poetry Society of America, 1910-1950'' (with foreword by Robert Hillyer). New York: Fine Editions Press, 1950. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Gustav Davidson, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Oct. 16, 2016. See also *List of U.S. poets References External links ;Books *Gustav Davidson (-1972) at Library Thing *Gustav Davidson at Amazon.com ;About *[http://www.esotericgoldendawn.com/resources_bkrev_dictionary.htm review of A Dictionary of Angels] at Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn. Category:1895 births Category:1971 deaths Category:American poets Category:American librarians Category:20th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Columbia University alumni